Communications and Learning Manager (Deadline: Nov 12, 2022)

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004. In partnership with civil society organizations, private sector, and the government, Mercy Corps Ethiopia has reached more than five million Ethiopians with interventions to save lives and build secure livelihoods. Our programs emphasize market-driven solutions, reinforce social bonds, and help communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change. Currently in six regional states – Afar, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, Amhara and South Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) – Mercy Corps Ethiopia is driven by the mission to contribute the emergence of a peaceful, resilient, and prosperous Ethiopia which is inclusive of youth and women. Our strategic directions focus in promoting inclusive and dynamic markets; promoting peace and social cohesion through strengthening formal/informal governance structures and citizen engagement; improved natural resource governance; and integrated humanitarian response.

  Position Title: Communications and Learning Manager

           Duty Station: Addis Ababa

          Open Position:  1

Program Summary

Mercy Corps is a globally recognized leader in resilience, pursuing bold strategies to analyze and address interconnected shocks and stresses by improving and strengthening systems and capacities so all members within a community can cope, adapt and thrive.   We apply our resilience approach to catalyze transformational change in chronically risk-prone environments facing climate change and conflict, working together with diverse partners to improve food security, economic opportunity, water security, peace and good governance.

Mercy Corps has been present in Ethiopia since 2004 and acts on behalf of people who have become disenfranchised and poor. We stand with Ethiopia to find and access opportunities, and to be part of lasting and meaningful transformation in the country. Mercy Corps seeks to be influential with government and development actors towards a more resilient country where poverty is tackled through the eyes of those who understand it best. This translates into ensuring that the population is financially stable, healthy & nourished, educated & unformed, and that natural resources are accessible, shared and utilized sustainably.

Mercy Corps is looking for individuals who will have responsibility to support technical teams in communications and Learning activities.

General Position Summary

The Communications and Learning Manager focusses on Resilience Storytelling and Communication provides a combination of technical leadership over resilience storytelling methods and guidance, management of a pipeline of resilience documentation opportunities, and strategic direct support to programs on resilience-focused learning capture and resilience communications strategy. The Communications and Learning Manager works closely with other technical roles in the Country Communications and Learning Specialist to link storytelling methods with broader guidance on and methods for resilience-informed program design, measurement, learning and quality implementation. She/he partners with program teams to improve systems for deliberately identifying and communicating participants and communities’ lived experience of resilience dynamics and anecdotes of change in a way that reinforces program learning for adaptation and quality. She/he also engages deeply to harvest and produce high quality resilience stories and strategic results and learning documentation. This role also enhances knowledge sharing among Mercy Corps’ global network of resilience practitioners.

The Communications and Learning Manager will be based in Addis Ababa at the RIPA program on a full-time basis and directly reports to RIPA CLA Lead. S/he directly works with: Crisis Response Team Lead, CLA Lead, MEL Manager, MEL Specialist, Country PaQ team, CARM advisor, Learning and communications specialist. The general duties and responsibilities of the Communications and Learning Manager are to provide oversight of project-level Communications and Learning activities within the RIPA Program, ensuring the quality of the project’s Communications and Learning activities, information management via the programs reporting system and geographic information systems (GIS), where applicable. The Communications and Learning Manager’s role is to also oversee and ensure coordination of the various technical areas across the RIPA Program, and other relevant Project staff and components. The Communications and Learning Manager is responsible for the capacity building and mentoring strategy for program staff on themes related to Communications, Resilience Story Telling, Branding protocols, infographics, graphic design, GIS, accountability, reporting and learning.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Program Management

• Set direction for and steward program approach and methods for resilience storytelling, ensuring they are data-driven and promote community and local practitioner assets, voices and perspectives in line with Mercy Corps’ core values around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
• Lead the development of detailed technical guidance, didactic materials and tools to improve the use of resilience storytelling in RIPA program.
• Develop and manage implementation of a strategic pipeline of high-impact resilience stories, results and learning documentation opportunities, and regularly identify and nurture new opportunities into the pipeline.

Program Quality and Implementation

• Partner with program teams to define resilience storytelling objectives, develop tailored systems to collect and produce high-impact resilience stories and integrate systems within broader program learning and adaptive management mechanisms (focus: resilient food security and nexus portfolios in the RIPA Program).  Provide ongoing mentorship to teams to improve story collection and production.
• Collaborate with program technical and MEL/CLA focal points to connect story collection to M&E, Learning, Reflection and Adaptation systems and processes, including by designing and leading facilitated learning sessions.
• Lead collection and production of high-quality resilience stories and strategic documentation efforts (e.g., case studies, learning briefs) to capture key resilience results and lessons learned.
• Facilitate program teams’ linkage with additional resilience storytelling and documentation resources and consultants and guide/support their production of resilience communication products.
• Lead or facilitate the development of communication strategies that support a strategic approach to program communication with an emphasis on highlighting resilience capacities, advocating for resilience programming, and evidencing Mercy Corps approach to resilience
• Work with media and communication outlets to facilitate strategic dissemination of resilience stories and documentation.
• Design and implement capacity strengthening and facilitation materials for resilience story collection and development, supporting programs’ ability to consistently and effectively communicate their resilience vision with key audiences.
• Counsel program teams on recommended strategies to build a foundation for strong resilience storytelling and documentation.
• Provide strategic and tactical support to resilience portfolio/backbone programs to enhance quality of their resilience communication and learning components.
• Enhance flagship RIPA’s strategic communications approach for resilience and support them to develop plans to elevate their stories, evidence and influence externally and internally.

Knowledge Management

• Manage RIPA’s developing communication and learning plans and systems for engagement, leading implementation of activities, and implementing methods to track overall satisfaction, engagement and quality.
• Support implementation of occasional resilience and learning events, including developing operational plans, helping develop content, and facilitating participation in different events.

Internal and External Communications

● Provide leadership in updating and implementation of a Mercy Corps Ethiopia and donor Communication Strategy and Plans

● Ensure adherence to Mercy Corps and donor branding and marketing standards, maintaining quality across materials, events, and other media.

● Oversee the development of publications, materials, and other products from design to writing, editing, branding and distribution

● Work with country PaQ team in the production of quarterly newsletter and donor reports.

● Manage special events and relationships that include facilitate government, corporate, donor, and other high level official visits to project sites and head office.

● Build the capacity of all relevant team members in communications, including Donor regulations and technical abilities such as photography, videography, developing messages and materials for program activities.

● Mercy Corps institutional linkage: directly work with Mercy Corps communications and learning specialist to ensure Mercy Corps Ethiopia communications materials are linked to MC Ethiopia, donor and MC Global communications initiatives.

Information Management, Dissemination, and Feedback

● In coordination with technical teams and CLA Lead, put together monthly updates from the region and other reports as required, especially summarizing monthly lessons learned and disseminating these with partners.

● Provides weekly updates to CLA Lead in Addis Ababa to share with partners and stakeholders.

● Assists technical teams in developing, implementing and analyzing sub-activity evaluations and to alert technical teams of results provided by the online information system.

● Organizes feedback sessions and other platforms at regional level with partners, beneficiaries and stakeholders (private and public sectors), and, with the assistance of the team lead and CLA Lead, ensures responses are provided timely.

● Collects and documents case studies, success stories and shares with internal and external audiences.

● Ensures regular and timely reporting from program staff and implementing parthners by monitoring receipts of monthly, quarterly and annual activity progress reports and following up with the project staff and implementing parthners on non-reporting.

Influence and Compliance Management

● Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to humanitarian and Crisis Response programming.

● Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.

Influence and Representation

● Identify, build, and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments, and other stakeholders.

● Communicate effectively to ensure overall program targets and donor obligations are met.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work,

while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Safeguarding & Ethics

·       Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Knowledge and Experience

● BA/S or equivalent, preferable in Communications and Journalism, Foreign Language and Literature, Social Science, International development or MA/S in similar other relevant fields preferred.

● 8 years of professional experience in a relevant field for international development programs; USAID or another donor, or NGO preferred.

● A minimum of 4 years of experience in communications and learning on development and humanitarian response programming.

● Experience with Graphic Design, Infographics, GIS or other geographic information system preferred but not required.

● Ability to prepare clear and concise reports.

● High degree of computer literacy; graphic design tools, Excel and Word skills are essential.

● Ability to manage and meet deadlines.

● Ability to work independently on multi-task load.

● Excellent communication, presentation and organizational skills.

● Fluency in written and oral English and Amharic languages. Must be able to read and interpret documents and communicate with others as necessary to perform job duties effectively.

● Basic graphic design skills and able to perform job specific experience in augmented with software skills.

Success Factors

● Excellent communication, facilitation, partnerships and networking skills with a wide range of private, partner and NGO-sector actors.

● Business minded, entrepreneurial, adaptive, curious, great problem-solving skills, unafraid to ask questions, and results motivated.

● Tolerant and flexible individual able to work in difficult and stressful environments and follow procedures.

● Computer proficiency especially in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and other graphic design tools such as illustrator.